Family questions response time in Ravenel home invasion

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - A grief-stricken family is left wondering why it took so long for 27-year-old Rasha Porter to receive medical attention when he was shot to death Monday morning during a home invasion in front of his girlfriend and children.

Lt. Mark Fields with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office says officials received the call at 1:01 a.m. and got to the scene at 1:13 a.m.

"Once the deputies are called they are going to have to travel and once they do get there they are going to have to asses the situation quickly and go into the residence and search it then clear the residence," Fields said.

"We have a written policy that we have followed ever since the agency was developed and it follows national protocols that have medical staff staged far enough away where the shooters cant see the crews until law enforcement arrives and secures the scene," Lundy said.

The time frame of getting to the victim has the family concerned.

"My daughter said police told her that the police was on Edisto Island which was 30 miles from the crime scene," said Marvin Bowers, the father of Porter's girlfriend. "There is a sub-station no more than two miles from where it happened. They could have been there in two minutes."

Bowers also said that his daughter, Angela Bowers, tried to administer aid to the victim who you could hear moaning in the 911 call.

"There was a possibility he could have been saved," Marvin Bowers said. "My daughter did not know what to do. She was trying to do her best, but she could not do what EMS would have done."

Bowers says that something has to change.

"If that's the policy we need to make sure EMS is safe before they enter then we need to make sure there are more police in the area to respond earlier so they can clear the scene and EMS can get in there and help these victims," Bowers said.